The heart of the matter

The third layer is where the darkness truly lurks, and where the deadly
importance of this situation lies. Valerie Plame was not simply an analyst or
a data cruncher. She was an operative running a network dedicated to tracking
any person or nation that might try to give weapons of mass destruction to
terrorists. That sentence deserves to be written twice. She was an operative
running a network dedicated to tracking any person or nation that might try to
give weapons of mass destruction to terrorists.

The Bush administration pushed very hard the idea that America is in danger
from WMDs being placed into the hands of terrorists. This was one of the
central arguments behind the war in Iraq. Yet in order to protect Bush's
political standing, a couple of "administration officials" blew
Valerie Plame, and by proxy her network, completely out of the water in an
attempt to shut her husband up. In short, in order to protect Bush from the
ramifications of using fake evidence to support his war, this White House
destroyed an intelligence network that was protecting us from the threat posed
by chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.

Beyond the sheer vindictiveness of this criminal act is the basic fact that
the Bushies put politics and personal vendetta above considerations for the
safety of the American people.